Professor Thom’s
“It's a Red Sox, UMass & Michigan football bar – which is great to be a UMass alum & feel like I'm back in the Mullins Center.”
“A true bastion of goodness in the heart of the evil empire, Professor Thom's is one in a million – and truly the best Boston bar in NYC.”
“The waffle fries were well seasoned and plentiful, while the corn was fresh and sweet to the bite.”
Professor Thom’s
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I think 3.5 stars is just about right for this place. So I'm torn on my ultimate rating. Meaning I'll likely come to a decision through writing my opening paragraph (how lucky are you that you get to be part of my thought process? Hashtag blessed.). Being a Boston bar in New York in it of itself does not bode well for reviews among New Yorkers. And even if you're not originally from New York (or are not a New York sports fan), you most likely hate Tom Brady/Bill Belichick/the Patriots. The latter is my reality. I've never been to Professor Thom's during football season, but were I do to so my rating would probably be pretty clear. So Professor Thom's, "for a Boston bar", is actually quite fun. But I've given a whole bunch of 4-star reviews to sports bars I enjoy far more than this one. So I think we all know where this is going–it's a 3 for me.
One thing I very much like about Professor Thom's is the fact that it's a bright spot in the otherwise bleak landscape of this area. My first time here, I was afraid that stragglers from 13th Step and Penning Farthing would end up here–thankfully I have not found that to be the case. One thing I WILL mention here is that I have purposely not come here during any sort of New England sporting event, so this review is purely for the general bar experience. I'm sure it can get seriously rowdy here, but I can't report that here.
Professor Thom's is a fairly large, welcoming space. There's a bunch of bar seating, some smaller tables and a few large tables in the back. I'm used to the Philly sports bars (Wogies/Shortys), so this place is a palace (I ONLY MEAN THIS IN TERMS OF SPACE) relative to those. I highly recommend coming with a mid-sized or large group of people who have a case of the munchies and feel like watching any old game. Because nachos.
Let me preface these nachos graphs by saying I am not a nachos connoisseur. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've had nachos in the past five years. I think it comes to a grand total of three. Two of those times were at Professor Thom's.
My first time, I was with a group of maybe 7 or 8 people. This group of people actually chose Prof Thom's because of the nachos, so we obviously had to order them. And I was along for the ride. I remember the majestic, pizza platter-sized plate. I remember all of those topping. I remember serious goodness. It was a totally dazzling experience for someone who never eats nachos. It was tons of fun. But then I went back. I'm not saying they weren't good the second time, I think they just came back down to earth for me. I mean of course, they were delicious and plentiful and wonderful but they're not faint-out-of-amazement great. Just my opinion. All I'm sayin' is, if you come here and don't order these, don't feel like your life is a failure.
Onto the beer. The beer here is just A-OK, as Yelp says. Maybe I've just been spoiled by the numerous craft beer spots around the city, but I was disappointed given the other sports bar beer experiences I've had. The selection is fine but there's nothing too interesting offered. If you want a sports bar with great beer, go to George Keeley's. Or Smithfield. Or Blue Haven.
One very nice Prof Thom's touch: personal TVs at the smaller tables. Most sports bars will change the TV nearest you to the channel that you so desire (unless said bars are affiliated with a certain city in which case all TVs will likely play game of team in said city), but this place does those bars one better. I approve.
Nice enough local bar; I stopped in for a Thom's Ale ($5.00 at Happy Hour) and a BLT ($9.95). The sandwich was fine but it came with some strange potato chips – they appeared to be house-made chips which were left in a chiller and served cold instead of room temp. But I would go back when in the neighborhood. Bartender was friendly and professional.
I hadn't been back to Professor Thom's in years. When I was a youngin. . . . maybe almost ten years ago and this was one of my first forays into going to bars, as well as Finnertys next door. Don't judge. I was 21 or 22. I would come here on occasion with my roommate to watch the series '24' (the later seasons did not do it any justice but we still watched). The reason being is that Professor Thom's would give out free shots for every time someone got shot and killed.
This prior Thursday evening as I was planning to head to the gym my friend hits me up and asks "do you wanna go get free nachos?!" Naturally, I look at my gym bag and look at the picture of nachos she forwarded to me and exclaim "Hell yes, I want nachos over sweating." Quickly came here after work and was not disappointed. Same atmosphere but it was less bro-y than I was anticipating. The place was pretty empty. Upstairs it was dead and honestly relaxing that way. The tables could be adjusted a bit. All of them have seen better days and are off slanted and crooked, leading to when your buddy puts their elbows on the table, your drink goes skidding and sloshing all over the place. Drinks were cheap. About $4 for wells and wine. Beer was surprisingly more expensive, unless you wanted to drink Coors. It was not a Coors kind of day so I went with the red house wine that was drinkable.
What you honestly come here for are those freaking Nachos. Thursday nights. They are incredible. It's like a cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, jalapeno mountain of glory descended from the gods. I've heard rave reviews about how these are some of the best nachos in the city and was skeptical about reading that. . . . but these people tell no lies. Superior nachos. Professor Thom's, you still never fail to disappoint and surprise me, even years later.
It's a loud rowdy Boston sports bar that serves me best as overflow from Finnerty's during a big bay area sports day. I thought their beer selection was kind of lacking.
I've come here for the Flyertalker/Frequent Flier meetups before & more recently, its Wednesday 8:30p pub trivia nights. Always a great time, the interior design is so warm, the spacing & seating are just right for both striking up new conversations in the normal table areas yet getting privacy in the booth seats, the staff while overburdened (usually just 2 hosts for 36+ seats) are always so friendly, the beers are very New England & Michigan centric which I appreciate & the food is a hit with generous portions & delicious recipes. My most frequently ordered items are the pile of nachoes (wide variety of items in it), fish & chips (the usual goodness) & the turkey burger ones. It's an University of Michigan & Boston Red Sox venue but neither should dissuade any patron. Easy location with the M15+ stop just 15ft from its door. Big generous bright plasma screens on nearly all walled areas of its rear half in this very long & deep interior space. Love it!
Came here on a Friday night. Service was friendly, and they have a decent beer list.
They also have a decent food menu, and my group decided to share an order of nachos. There were 4 of us, and we ordered the nachos that would feed 2-4. It was massive, and we couldn't finish it.
This is a Red Sox bar. If that bothers you, do not set foot in here.
I went to Professor Thom's on a Saturday night and it was a blast. This bar has two floors – the first floor is just a chill regular bar while the top floor is more of "party" zone. IMO I thought the second floor was so much better!
Reasons why?
The second floor has a bar area and a separate back room with couches and a dance floor – my boyfriends friends girlfriend (trying so hard to be accurate haha) reserved half of the floor which was awesome so we were able to have a place to go back and chill/talk + somewhere to leave our coats. If you don't have that room reserved there's a coat rack on that floor. But yeah – their music selection was on point! They had a variety of music BUT the best thing was that they played dance hall! Also, there's a bar right in the middle and the bartenders were friendly (at least the one I got my drinks from).
Overall, fun bar where you have the option to chill and talk or go upstairs and dance. Good for a night out.
I absolutely adore Professor Thom's.
When the weather permits, the balcony is an awesome place to hang out, have a few drinks and/or smoke a cigarette without having to leave the bar. I had been here a few late nights before ever checking out the food, and I can't believe it took me so long to try it!
Nachos are the star of the show here. These are, without a shred of doubt in my mind, the best nachos in New York City. A double order comes out on a pizza tray and can easily be shared among a group of 6 people. You can get chicken or steak, but these nachos don't really need meat. I legit dream of these nachos! They use real cheese and are topped with guac, sour cream, pico, and jalapenos. The chips don't get soggy and the salsa has a nice flavor to it (but beware — you will be charged if you ask for extra).
Monday night is Lobster Night — $20 for a whole lobster, waffle fries, and corn on the cob. When we arrived, we were told there were 3 lobsters left so my party ordered 3, but we later saw them serve additional lobsters to other customers, which was a little shady. I probably wouldn't do lobster night again, but I still think it's an awesome deal.
I've also tried a bunch of the smaller sides like onion rings, cheese tots and soup tons… but I never really feel like ordering anything besides the nachos because they are that good.
P.S. this is a Boston bar, so be prepared to watch Boston sports.